Reborn Ones
by Hyne's Descendant
Summary: As usual, the bad guys are up to no good, and it's up to the 'reborn ones' and the two infamous 'Angels' to save the day. Got any idea who i'm talking about? This is actually a FF7 FF9 crossover. R&R please!
1. Prologue I

Reborn Ones  
Prologue: Part I  
  
Disclaimer: Final Fantasy and any of its characters aren't mine.. *sigh*  
  
I will not babble here. (Look further down if you want to see me babling)  
So.. Here goes.. Enjoy!! ^_^  
  
**  
  
Aeris looked out from the window of the inn in Gongaga Village. She and her friends had left Temple of the Ancients some hours ago, carrying the unconscious Cloud with them. Since he failed on the attempt to kill her back in the Temple, Cloud had been out cold. She was terribly worried that Sephiroth, or rather, the Jenova inside him, would be able to control Cloud some day. The thought of a friend turning into an enemy really terrified her. Jenova was the Calamity from the Sky. Who knows what she could and would do to to fulfill her name. She just hope that none of her friend would fall in Jenova's hand. She hoped that Cloud would never become another Sephiroth.  
  
Sephiroth.  
  
To be honest, she actually felt sorry for him. It clearly wasn't his fault that he became what he was. He didn't even want to be what he was now. Since his birth, Jenova has resided inside his body - giving him supreme power, and along with it, endless suffering. Whenever Sephiroth was near, she could hear his mind screaming for freedom, trying futilely to fight the Jenova in his body.  
  
Controlled by Jenova, Cloud had surrender the Black Materia to Sephiroth. She knew what Sephiroth was going to do. The Planet had told her that. But the Planet hadn't told her what she was supposed to do to stop him. It was up to her alone to finish the task. She was afraid, afraid if she might fail and lead the Planet to its destruction.  
  
Aeris shuddered at the thought. She had to do something before it was too late.  
  
"Are you okay?" Tifa asked from her behind. Aeris looked up in surprise at her friend. She was too deep in her thought that she didn't even realize when Tifa had entered the room.  
  
"I'm fine," Aeris lied. She wasn't fine at all. Her mind was all confused. She didn't know what she was supposed to do.  
  
Tifa smiled sadly at her answer, her hazel eyes were watching her intently. "You're not a good liar, Aeris," she said. "Tell me what's bothering you, maybe I could help."  
  
"Nothing, really,"Aeris said, trying as best as she could to convince Tifa. But, her raven-haired friend didn't seem satisfied with her answer. So, she tried to change the subject instead. "How's Cloud? Is he awake yet?"  
  
Tifa shook her head. "Not yet. He kept mumbling something about meteor in his sleep, and something about a reunion. His voice sounded really weird, as if he was saying it with someone else's voice. It's creepy."  
  
Aeris felt her heart beat quickly as Tifa explained Cloud's condition. Meteor and reunion with the Planet. That was what Jenova sought. And it seemed that her influence had stretched to more and more people, not only Sephiroth. Everything had slowly turned critical. While she was leisurely enjoying her travel around the world, Jenova had taken big steps towards her goal. Everything would end if she didn't do something quick.  
  
"There you go into your little world again," Tifa suddenly said, a smile on her face. Aeris's thought broke off. Was it that obvious?  
  
"Sorry, I didn't mean to ignore you," Aeris apologized.  
  
"That's okay." Tifa smiled at her again. "I know you're worried about what happened and all. I would've been worried myself if a friend tried to kill me. But, please remember that whatever happens, we'll always be there to help. If you have a problem, talk to me, and let us figure it out together."  
  
Aeris was greatly touched by Tifa's words. "Thank you," she said, smiling up at her.  
  
"Yo, Tifa."  
  
They both looked up at the source of the voice, and saw Barret sticking up his face into the room. "I need to have a word with you."  
  
"Sure," Tifa said, nodding her head. She turned her attention towards Aeris and said, "See you later."  
  
Aeris simply nodded and smiled at her friend. When Tifa was out of the room, she threw back her gaze outside, watching the villagers strolling up and down the street. Tifa's comforting words greatly soothed her worries, and she was suddenly reminded on how tired she was. The journey was long, and too much had happened in just one day. She threw one final glance towards the street before scrambling up the bed and closed her eyes. As she lay down on her bed, she thought of her next destination, The City of the Ancient.  
  
**  
  
Sephiroth watched silently as Aeris closed her eyes. He had been watching her for some time now, staring in admiration at her beauty. Some months had passed since his first encounter with her. She was selling flowers in the slums in Midgar, when some street punks tried to disturbed her. He had saved her, and he could remember clearly how she looked up gratefully at him, giving him the sincerest smile he had seen in his life. She even offered him all of her flowers as a token of her gratitude, saying it was the only thing she could give him.  
  
At the very moment he saw her wonderful smile, he knew he would do anything to make it remain on her face forever.  
  
But life had never been fair to him. Their second meeting did not go so well. Being under Jenova's influence, he had attacked the ShinRa Headquarters, and killed the old fart with his sword. It was also there that he saw Aeris again. He learnt that she was a Cetra, the greatest enemy of the parasite inside him; and knew that they would be mortal enemy. Since then, he had only watched her from afar, knowing that he would never be with her.  
  
"But I would change our destiny tonight."  
  
Sephiroth opened the window to her room as silently as he could and slipped inside, landing on the floor with a soft thud. He paused and looked warily at the sleeping brunette, making sure that she was asleep. Aeris didn't seem to hear anything; still resting peacefully in her deep slumber.  
  
Slowly, Sephiroth made his way towards her bed, watching her sleeping form intently. When he reached her bed, he kneeled down beside it, and reached out his hand to touch her face. A slight frown came into her face, but it vanished as soon as it appeared.  
  
"Sleep well, my love," he muttered before casting Sleep spell on her.  
  
As soon as he was sure that she would not wake up, he scoop her up into his arms, holding her closely to his chest. Aeris snuggled closer to the warmth of his body and sighed contentedly. Sephiroth smiled at the sleeping figure in his hands. How much he wished that he could hold her close like this forever.  
  
But as long as Jenova still resides in his body, he knew that it would never happen.  
  
That was why he needed Aeris' help. He wanted her to help him - to help him kill himself, along with the Jenova inside him. That was the only thing he could think at the moment. Jenova had left him free since the incident in Temple of the Ancient, and it would be the best time for him to carry out his plan. He would take Aeris to the Forgotten Capital, and let her finish him there.  
  
**  
  
Aeris opened her eyes slowly. A dazzling blue light greeted her, causing her to blink a few times to adjust to the bright light. Slowly, she sat up, and felt a slight headche. She felt like she had been sleeping for a long time.When she looked around her, she was surprised to find herself in an alien place. She was in a small room with shells and corals everywhere; which gave her a funny idea that she was in an underwater city. She checked herself if she was being robbed, but nothing was stolen. She still had her Princess Guard, her armlet and her materia. Most importantly, Holy materia was still safe in a hidden pocket of her jacket.  
  
Slowly, she got off the bed and walked towards the source of the light - a round, blue crystal located at one side of the room. There were some strange symbols on it. As she took a closer look at it, she realized that it was probably some ancient scripture. She bent down to take a closer look at it, but she was interrupted with a voice which she recognized to be Sephiroth's.  
  
"You're awake," he said, watching her with his mako green eyes.  
  
Aeris quickly ran to the bed to grab Princess Guard. She turned to face him, holding her staff tightly in case of a sudden battle. Strangely enough, Sephiroth just looked at her and did nothing. That's when she realized that she didn't hear his inner cry. Perhaps he wasn't controlled by Jenova anymore.  
  
"Did you bring me here?" Aeris asked, although she already knew the answer.  
  
Sephiroth didn't answer her question. Instead, he walked towards a chair near the bed and sat down, a slight smirk formed on his face. Although he seemed unhostile for the moemnt, Aeris continued to watch him warily, her staff ready in case she needed to use it.  
  
Sephiroth's smirk grew wider at her behaviour. "Relax, if I want to kill you, I would've done that a long time ago," he said.  
  
"You were the one who brought me here, am I right?" Aeris tried again, hoping to get a response.  
  
Sephiroth decided to answer her this time. "Obviously, yes."  
  
"Where is this place?"  
  
"City of the Ancient, the Forgotten Capital," Sephiroth asnwered.  
  
Aeris's eyed widened upon hearing the name of the place. It was the very place she needed to go in order to destroy the enemy, and now, there she was, automatically brought to that place by none other than Sephiroth himself.  
  
"But why did you bring me here?" Aeris asked, confused. The sooner she got there, the sooner she would be able to summon Holy and defeat Sephiroth. He must have known that.  
  
There was a long silence. Sephiroth's expression changed completely. The smirk was gone from his face, and now he looked. sad. "I want you. to end it quickly," he finally said.  
  
"End what.?"  
  
"My pain." Sephiroth answered simply. "I want you to use Holy and kill me quickly."  
  
Aeris was greatly shocked at his answer. It was hard for her to believe that the great Sephiroth was actually asking her to kill him. But she guessed she knew why. Being a powerful general once, he must have hated to be manipulated by anyone else. Or, is there another reason? "Why do you want to die so much? Are you worried that Jenova would use you to destroy the Planet?"  
  
Sephiroth answered her question with a sinister laugh. "Why do I have to care about what would happen to this Planet? Don't mistake me with Cloud Strife. I would really love to see those wretched people die. They don't even deserve to live in the first place. Manipulating others for their benefit, killing each other to gain power; even animals are better than them."  
  
"You're wrong! Not everyone is like that!" Aeris protested.  
  
"For all my life, I've only seen people using and killing each other for their own good. All the kindness they showed me are merely a ploy to gain my trust. Even my own father used me." Sephiroth said bitterly. "Show me even only one person who wouldn't use me for his own profit, if such people exist, of course."  
  
Aeris felt a great sympathy welled up inside her. Of course it could have been merely an act, Jenova might be able to do that - trick her with kind and pitiable words, and then strike her when she least expect it. But she knew it wasn't the case, then. She could sense profound sadness in his voice. She was sure that he wasn't lying to her.  
  
Slowly, she walked towards Sephiroth and sat down before him, smiling. "There's one person," she began. "But it's not a 'he'. It's a 'she', and she's sitting right before your eyes."  
  
For a moment, Sephiroth didn't say anything. He just stared at her with mixed expression - delight, disbelief, curiosity and hope were all clear on his face. Aeris knew that he was searching for the truth in her words.  
  
"Don't look at me like that. I wasn't lying," Aeris told him. "My mother always said that I am a good girl. And believe me, I would never use you."  
  
Much to her serprise, Sephiroth's face lit up with a warm smile - the first real smile she had seen from him. "Thank you." he said with the deepest sincerity.  
  
Aeris was truly amazed by the smile on Sephiroth's face. It light up his whole grim face and changed him into a completely different person. Perhaps that's what he would have become if the world hasn't been so cruel to him. "You should smile more often," she commented. "You look much more handsome that way."  
  
"I would always look handsome no matter what I do," Sephiroth shot back, grinning. Then, they both laughed, beginning to feel comfortable with each other.  
  
There was a short silence once the laughter had ended. Aeris was the one who broke it by asking a question she had been dying to ask, "Why aren't you controlled by Jenova?"  
  
"I'm not so sure myself," Sephiroth confessed. "Perhaps it's because this place is special. This is the City of the Ancients, after all. Even the name alone would give you that awe feeling."  
  
"You might be right," Aeris said, smiling. "So, what exactly do you want me to do here?"  
  
"There's sort of. an underwater palace here. Perhaps you should go pray there and use Holy," Sephiroth explained. "I'll show you how to get there."  
  
"If I use Holy, would you die along with Jenova?" Aeris asked. She didn't know since when it began, but she suddenly felt like she didn't want to lose Sephiroth.  
  
"I don't know," Sephiroth said. "But probably yes. I am one with Jenova. If she dies, so do I."  
  
"Oh," was all Aeris could say at the moment. If Sephiroth was really going to die, she thought she'd better spend more time with him. It's not like Jenova could control him here, right? She needed to find an excuse to delay the Holy summoning. "Erm." she began, trying very hard to think of an excuse. She looked out through the window and realized that it was night. "Why don't we go tomorrow? It's still dark. It wouldn't hurt to wait for another day, would it?"  
  
It seemed that Sephiroth was actually waiting for her to say that. He instantly agreed to her suggestion. "I guess you're right. Let's have a good night's sleep first. You need to rest as you'd have a big day tomorrow," he said. Aeris thought that his idea didn't make much sense. She was asleep the whole time Sephiroth brought her here from Gongaga Village. The journey would at least take three days. She had just woken up, and she didn't feel like sleeping for another two days or so. She wondered if she had been asleep for such a long time that it finally given her insomnia.  
  
"How long have I been sleeping?" she asked, suddenly feeling curious.  
  
"About three days," Sephiroth replied.  
  
"Three days?" Aeris exclaimed, feeling extremely surprised. But there was no way she would sleep three days straight without waking up. Unless. "Do you have something to do with it?" she asked suspiciously.  
  
"Well. I did cast Sleep on you every now and then." Sephiroth said. "It'd be easier to carry you if you're asleep. Who knows what you would do if you're awake?"  
  
Aeris smiled. "I figured that. Thanks to you, I don't feel like sleeping anymore. Why don't we chat a bit?"  
  
"Sure."  
  
They spent the night talking about each other's past and what they plan to do in the future. Aeris told Sephiroth about her dream of opening a flower shop, and Sephiroth bluntly told her that he would be a gardener and raise flowers for her; both unaware of the cruel fate waiting for them the next day.  
  
The rest that happened between them was history. Sephiroth took Aeris to the underwater palace. As he watched Aeris prayed to the Planet, Jenova took control of him. While he was trying to fight her, Cloud and the others came. Jenova took the opportunity to control Cloud and ordered him to kill Aeris. When he failed to do it the second time, Jenova decided to do it herself. Using Sephiroth as her weapon, she made him jumped down straight towards Aeris, and pierced her heart with his Masamune Blade. The Holy materia fell deep into the pool, never to be found again.  
  
**  
  
Me: Yay! I finally finish my first story after months of retirement! *clap hands excitedly*  
  
Sephiroth: What is she so happy about?  
  
Aeris: She had finally gotten over her laziness.  
  
Sephiroth: Sou ka.. She's been lazy, huh? No wonder she's been putting some weight over these past months.  
  
Me: Perhaps you should shut your mouth, or I'll make sure you'll suffer throughout this story. It's just begun and it would be a loooong time before it ends.  
  
Sephiroth: And I'm sure no one would want to read your story ever again. Right, girls?  
  
Sephiroth's fans: Suree, Seph-chan!  
  
Sephiroth: *sniggers, throwing flying kiss towards his fans*  
  
Sephiroth's fans + Me: *faint*  
  
Aeris: *rolls eyes* No dinner for you tonight.  
  
Sephiroth: But, Aeris.  
  
Aeris: Just ask the girls to take you out for dinner. *stomps away*  
  
Sephiroth: *stomach rumbling, runs after her* Wait, Aeris! I'm sorry!  
  
Me: *sweatdropps*  
  
So what do you think? Since my english is not very good, just tell me if there's any grammar mistake or anything. I hope I could improve my english by doing this. Anyway.. please review, it would make me very happy! Onegai! 


	2. Prologue 2 I

Reborn Ones  
Prologue: Part 2-I  
  
Disclaimer: Geez. I can't find Final Fantasy anywhere in my room. I can't  
even find it in my closet.  
I guess Final Fantasy is not mine then. Squaresoft is the owner. *sigh*  
  
Me: Woohoo!! The second prologue is up! Note that this is only the first part of the second prologue. Another one is coming up pretty soon. Sorry  
for the delay. (it's been almost three weeks, right?) But that's not my fault. I live in hostel. And I came back home only this evening. So, please  
don't blame me. Oh, yeah, thank you very much for reviewing!!  
  
Anyway. enjoy!! ^_^  
  
******  
  
Madain Sari was a small village in the Outer Continent. Although small by size, it was a village of big importance. It was the dwelling of the Summoners, a race gifted with the special ability to summon the Eidolons - powerful beings that possess great powers, strong enough to destroy Gaia, if that were their wish.  
  
Darla was a young girl with the special blood. She lived in Madain Sari with her mother, Jane and her little sister, Sarah. [1] Although she hadn't reach the age of 16, at which she could use the power of Eidolons, Darla had a knack of getting herself into troubles. She enjoyed to venture into the land beyond Madain Sari with her Silver Dragon, which she called Sildra - a result of joining the first two syllables of the words 'Silver Dragon'. Sometimes, she even went as far as Iifa Tree, but she never entered the giant tree. Well, not yet, at least.  
  
It was a fine day, and, as usual, Darla sneaked out of the village for her monthly trip to Iifa Tree. She would go there to - as she prefer to call it - gather informations about the activities of the evil tree. For some reason, the Iifa Tree had produced more Mist the past few months, resulting to the increase in the number of dark spawns in Gaia. Darla wanted to stop it, but she knew she was powerless against the spawns alone. That's why she would wait patiently for her 16th birthday before she would strike the Iifa Tree and bring it down - alone if she had to.  
  
After some hours of flight on Sildra, Darla reached the cliff overlooking the Iifa Tree. It gave her a good view of the Tree, and she would usually monitor the Tree's progress from there. Although she was usually rash and bold, she knew better than to actually go anywhere near the Iifa Tree.  
  
As Sildra swooped down towards the ground, Darla jumped off the dragon, landing skilfully on the ground. She told her dragon to go and walked towards the edge of the cliff cautiously. One would never know when a Mist spawn would try to attack her. Those creatures are always sly and cunning.  
  
As the Iifa Tree came into her view, she felt her forehead - at the spot where her horn had once been - tingling uncomfortably. Her horn had broken off some years ago, during her first encounter with Sildra. The dragon had been very firce once, but she managed to tame him in the end. It was the biggest achievement in her life.  
  
For some moment, she just stood on the cliff, looking intently at the looming tree before her. Once in a while, she could hear the cries of newly- born monters, cold, horrid cries that sent chills down her spine. She didn't know how long she had stood there when she heard footsteps coming towards her.  
  
Instinctively, she quickly ran towards a boulder and hid behind it, waiting patiently for the intruder. Carefully, she took a peek from her hiding place, and her eyes fell on a man with long silvery hair. Darla had never seen such man before - he was a cross between strikingly handsome and inexplicably beauty. She found herself staring wide-eyed at the stranger before her. Despite his gorgeous face, he had a lot of sinister-looking cuts all over his body, revealed through his inadequate and a little too- revealing outfit. The cuts were still red with blood, meaning that he had received them recently. As he walked closer towards her, Darla could see that his face was full of despair, and his eyes were teary.  
  
She felt a great sympathy welled inside her. She felt like she wanted to hold him, to comfort him and to tell him not to cry now that he had her with him. Slowly, she sat up to reveal herself, but her more sensible mind told her to keep hiding. She decided to follow the latter, and quickly sat back down behind the boulder. But it was too late.  
  
"Come out now," the silver-haired man said with a commanding voice. "I know you're there."  
  
Darla felt her heart beat quickly. She didn't knew whether she was supposed to relent to his order or kept hiding there. She knew she might be in a great trouble if she step out and give herself in to the stranger. What if he came from Iifa Tree? Would he kill her? But she knew he would find her sooner or later, anyway. The boulder won't give her much protection.  
  
"I told you to come out," he said again. There was a tinge of anger in his voice. Suddenly feeling afraid, Darla stepped out from her hiding place. The silver-haired man studied her with his cold blue eyes. For a fraction of a second, their eyes met. She felt a chill ran down her spine and quickly look away.  
  
"Don't worry. I'm not an enemy," Darla said after she had regained her courage. She looked up at the silver-tressed man and smiled at him to emphasize her words. For a moment, he didn't say anything, but continued staring at her instead, searching for the truth of her words. Then, he nodded.  
  
"I believe you," he said simply, walking towards her.  
  
He was close enough now that she could see his face clearly. Although he was much taller than her, he was actually much younger than she had thought, probably a year or two older than her. Perhaps she should call him silver-haired boy now instead of silver-haired man.  
  
The thought brought a sudden smile on her face.  
  
"What's so funny?" he asked, frowning down at her.  
  
Darla shook her head. "Nothing. A funny thought occurred to me, that's all."  
  
"Were you laughing at me?"  
  
"No," Darla said a little bit too quickly. The man seemed upset enough. She didn't want to make things worse. "Not at you."  
  
He nodded and turned away from her. "What are you doing here?"  
  
Darla hesitated before answering his question. Her instinct told her not to tell him the truth. "I was just enjoying the view here," she lied.  
  
"Does the view of Iifa Tree bring you joy?" her asked. Judging from his tone, Darla could tell that he was disgusted, or angry at the idea.  
  
She didn't say anything. His words struck her like a blow. Of course the answer was a big fat 'NO'. She hated Iifa Tree with all her heart. The Mist it produced had given birth to the monster that killed her father. Since that day, she had sworn that she would put a stop to it, someday.  
  
"Actually," Darla began quietly. "I hate that tree. I came here sometimes to watch it, and to find a way to destroy it."  
  
The silver-haired man suddenly seemed very interested with her story. All trace of despair had gone from his face, only to be replaced by curiosity. "If that is your desire, why don't you fulfil it? The tree is not far from here."  
  
"It's because. I can't. I'm afraid." Darla said grudgingly. "I'm powerless. I would die the moment I set my foot there. That's why I'm waiting for the right time to strike. Someday, maybe."  
  
"It sounds like a very long time ahead."  
  
"Yes, I know. But it's better than to go right away and get killed, never being able to accomplish my dream," she said confidently. "Sometimes we have to wait for the right moment to strike."  
  
The silver-haired man fell silence at her words. He looked like he was deep in thought, and then nodded. "You're right. I should wait. Then only I can get my revenge."  
  
"Get revenge. at the one who did these to you?" Darla asked, lightly touching one of his wounds. He winced, but didn't say anything. "I'm sorry," she apologized. "Do you mind if I heal the wounds for you?"  
  
He didn't say anything.  
  
Darla considered it as a 'yes'. She concentrated, gathering all her energy at the palms of her hands. A brilliant white light engulfed her arms. Slowly, the light stretched towards his body, and illuminated his whole figure. When it was over, all his wounds were gone, leaving only patches of slightly red skin.  
  
"I'm sorry. I'm not strong enough yet. This is all I could do."  
  
"No, nevermind. I should thank you."  
  
Darla smiled up at him. "No problem. Ermm. anyway. who gave you those wounds?" she asked, surrendering to her curiosity. She knew the question would upset her new 'friend' but she had been dying to ask question the moment she saw those wounds, and she couldn't just wait anymore.  
  
His face suddenly turned melancholy again. He sat down on the rocky ground and stared ahead at the Iifa Tree. He was so quiet that Darla thought that he was not going to answer her question. When she was about to give up, he said, "That cursed Garland. He is responsible for this."  
  
Suddenly feeling interested, she sat down next to him. She can't wait to hear more stories from him. "Is he your arch-enemy or something?"  
  
If possible, his face turned even more bleak. "Yes, and he is also my. father." There was a slight pause before he mouthed the word 'father', and when he said it, it was full of hatred and anger. He must've hated that man very much.  
  
"But, he is you father. He's the one who brought you to this world. Why did he hit you?"  
  
"He told me that I am a failure. That I am useless to him. He really likes my. younger brother. He treasures that boy so much. Garland wouldn't even let me go near him, saying that I would infect him with my flawed blood. All I want is to see him, and play with him. I'm all alone in that place. No one bothered to talk to me, they don't even want to look at me."  
  
Suddenly, Darla heard soft sobs coming from the man beside her. Startled, she wrapped her arms around him in an attempt to comfort him. In response, he buried his face on her shoulder and began crying silently.  
  
Darla froze at his action. She felt extremely awkward at the moment. She had never been this sensitive before. In fact, she had never even done this to her own sister - she preferred to leave Sarah crying her eyes off than to comfort her till she stops crying (that might take hours). Whatever it was, she was wondering why she was being too kind to her new 'friend'. But it was too late to wonder. She had hugged him, and he had hugged her back. No turning back now. She can't just push him away, can she?  
  
"Shhh. Don't cry," she told him soothingly. Hesitantly, she began stroking his hair, humming an old song from her village. It was the song that she always sang whenever she felt lonely or sad. For some reason, it had always soothed her sadness, and it seemed to be working for the silver-haired man too.  
  
He looked up at her, his face looking amazed and cheerful at the same time. " The song is very beautiful. What is the title?"  
  
"I don't know." Darla shook her head. "The song is very popular in my village, yet no one knows the title. But I called it Song of Memory as it always bring back good memories to me. The song always soothes my feelings, so I thought it would work for you too."  
  
"It does," he said. "Thank you."  
  
"You're welcome."  
  
"Would you sing it for me again? With the words, if possible."  
  
Darla nodded, and she knew that she was being way too nice with the silver- haired man. "But I don't know all of the song. I've only memorized the first verse. Nobody in my village knows the whole song. Legend says that if anyone could sing the song from the beginning to the ending."  
  
'You would gain a legendary Eidolon.'  
  
That was how she intended to finish the sentence in the first place, but decided against it. She paused for a while, searching for the right words to say it. She can't reveal to him that she was a Summoner. No matter how intimate they have became, she would never tell him that.  
  
".. Something good is going to happen." She finished hesitantly. "For now, the words are still lost."  
  
"Oh..." The man seemed a little disappointed.  
  
"But don't worry. I'll sing it for you. But only the part that I know." Darla said quickly, getting a thin smile from him. She took a deep breath and began singing with a soft, melodious voice.  
  
'Alone for a while I've been searching through the dark  
  
For traces of the love you left inside my lonely heart  
  
To weave by picking up the pieces that remain, Melodies of life. Love's lost refrain..'  
  
Darla paused. There were words flowing into her mind, forming a familiar melody. It felt like someone. or something was whispering the words for her. She listened intently to the whisper, and she knew right away that it was the words of the song, and continued singing;  
  
'Our paths they did cross, though I cannot say just why We met, we laughed, we held on fast, and then we said goodbye And who'll hear the echoes of stories never told Let them ring out loud till they unfold  
  
In my dearest memories, I see you reaching out to me Though you're gone, I still believe that you can call out my name  
  
A voice from the past, joining yours and mine Adding up the layers of harmony And so it goes, on and on. Melodies of Life, to the sky beyond the flying birds, forever and beyond.'  
  
All of a sudden, another shrill cry came from Iifa Tree, and the flow of words stopped abruptly. Darla jerked her head towards the direction of the Tree, and continued to watch it until the cry subsided. When it was over, the words came back to her, but they didn't seem right for her. Something was missing.  
  
"Why did you stop?"  
  
"I don't know. it's just that.. The words don't seem right anymore."  
  
"It doesn't matter. Just go on."  
  
Darla nodded and continued the last verse;  
  
'If I should leave this lonely world behind,  
  
Your voice will still remember our melody..' [2]  
  
Then, her mind went blank. No more words came into her mind as the whisper had stopped abruptly. "That's as far as I could go. I don't know what comes next. Sorry." Darla tried to smile at the silver-haired man, but can't. The last verse of the song disturbed her. 'If I should leave this lonely world behind.' She knew that the song meant something.  
  
'.leave this lonely world behind.'  
  
Does it mean that she would die soon?  
  
"Are you okay?" the silver-haired man asked suddenly, breaking her thoughts.  
  
"Y-yes."  
  
"That's good." He smiled, and then pulled her into an embrace. "I wish we could stay like this forever. I don't want to go back there."  
  
Darla wanted to, but she didn't ask where the 'there' was. What he really needed now was advice, not another questions that would certainly depressed him even more.  
  
"But I think you shouldn't be like this anymore. Why don't you prove to your father that you're good, that you're not a failure. You should show to him that you're strong. Don't cry like a baby when he hit you again, okay? Big boys aren't supposed to cry. If you ever need someone to talk to, or whenever you feel lonely, just come here. I'll always be here for you." She paused for a while. "Well, maybe not always, but I'll come here every time and then," she said. "That's if I am not dead yet, of course," she added as a joke.  
  
The silver-haired man gave her a very warm smile which erased the coldness in his eyes. "Thank you again." He held her hands tightly and stared at her in such way that made her blush and looked away quickly. He held her face in his hand and tilted her face upwards so that she was looking straight into his eyes. Slowly, he lowered his face and pressed his lips lightly against hers.  
  
After some time, the kiss broke. Darla's face was bright red from embarrassment. She tried to look everywhere other than the silver-haired man's face. "I. uh. I think I should go now. I promised my mother to go back before afternoon," she said quickly. "So. I guess. see you later." She quickly turned and walked away from him.  
  
"Wait!" he called from behind. "I need to know your name."  
  
Darla turned again to look at him. She smiled, and said, "I'm Darla."  
  
"And I am Kuja."  
  
"Nice to meet you Kuja," Darla said. She took off her silver pendant and threw it towards him - it was the emblem of her family. She knew she wasn't supposed to give such an important thing to a stranger. But, she felt like she wanted to be remembered. Kuja caught it with his hand and peered at her curiously. "Take it. Whenever you feel lonely, look at it and know that I am here for you."  
  
Kuja nodded at her. "Thank you for everything."  
  
Darla gave him another smile before running down the slopes to find Sildra.  
  
**  
  
Notes:  
  
[1] I've done a sidequest in Madain Sari which revealed these two names. I had read somewhere that these are Dagger's real name and her real mother's name.  
  
Sarah = Dagger @ Garnet Jane = Dagger's mom.  
  
[2] Melodies of Life is a property of Squaresoft. Not mine, and certainly not Darla's.  
  
[3] If you see any 'Diana' in the story, please tell me. It is the original name for Darla, but I changed it recently. So, please tell me so that I could correct it. Please!  
  
Me: So.. how did it go? I hope it was okay. Please tell me what you think of it. But, wether you like it or not. I'm still going to continue. ^_^ And. if you feel that my writing is too bad or you found grammar mistake or any other mistake, feel free to tell me. I'd be very happy to get any comment.  
  
Darla: Yeah. her English has gotten worse these days.  
  
Kuja: Mwa ha ha!! I made my first appearance. Everyone, cheer for your superstar!!  
  
Kuja: Mwa ha ha! I'm soooo cool. I know you'd get more review if you let me show up more often.  
  
Me: Really.?  
  
Kuja: Certainly. Just watch and learn.  
  
*turn towards the monitor and look at all readers*  
  
Kuja: To every girl out there - if you want me to appear in your dreams.. You have to review!! As for boys - if you want to be as handsome and almighty as me, you have to review!!  
  
Me: Yeah, right. Whatever it is. please review!!  
  
Ja ne!!!! 


	3. Prologue 2 II

Reborn Ones Part 2-II  
  
Disclaimer: Nope. Final Fantasy's not mine.  
  
Me: Ahh... finally.... Prologue 2 Version 2 is finished. I don't think anyone has ever seee a prologue this long, right? I spent three chapters just for prolgue... I guess it can't be helped. Again, sorry for the late. As I said before... I live in hostel. And my exam is just over last Thursday. This chapter is done in a hurry. Forgive me for any mistake. Gomen nasai everyone!  
  
Note: thank you so much for reviewing this lowly fic. Thanks a bunch!! ^_^  
  
Note again: Sarah = Garnet/Dagger. So, obviously, Darla is Dagger's older sister.  
  
***  
  
Darla reached Madain Sari later in the afternoon. When she entered her house, Jane – her mother – was already waiting for her, hands on hips, her face telling that she was just about to explode. "You're in a big trouble, young lady," she said – very ominously. "Where have you been?" Her tone changed abruptly from threatening to concerned. "I was worried sick about you. You're much later than usual. I thought something happened. I had already asked our neighbours to find you. You've given us a lot of trouble, and now, you're going to get one too."  
  
Little Sarah chose the moment to come from her room and ran happily towards Darla. "You're back!" she cried excitedly and wrapped her arms around her elder sister. "Ne, onee-chan, would you play hide-and-seek with me again today?" The little girl tugged at her sister's arm hopefully, giving her cute, heart-melting smile.  
  
Darla looked down at her, and then at the angry face of her mother. Sarah came just in time to save her. For some reason, her mother never scolded her in front of Sarah. She quickly led the little girl out of the room to escape from her mother's wrath. Smiling, she shook her head. "Nope," she replied, earning a disappointed look from Sarah. "But, today we'll be playing a new game instead."  
  
Sarah's face lit up at her words. "What? What is it?" she asked enthusiastically, a big smile formed on her face.  
  
Darla can't help but smiled along at Sarah's reaction. She's too curious for her age, asking this and that and wanting to know everything. She always had something to ask the people around her, especially her own big sister. Although sometimes Darla became annoyed with Sarah's endless questions, she nevertheless enjoyed most of them. She particularly took pleasure in inventing new stories to explain some of the question that she can't answer, and she enjoyed even more to look at Sarah's wide-eyed face whenever she was listening to her stories. Darla really adored her, and so does everyone. With her cute little face and big brown eyes, she could charm anyone and make them comply to her wish.  
  
"It's called 'the Knight of the Night'." Darla explained.  
  
Sarah frowned up at her sister. "Night of the Night?" She clearly didn't understand what her sister was talking about. "I've never heard of it..."  
  
"Of course. I was the one who invented it," Darla said proudly. "And you would be the first person in the whole Gaia to play it. Isn't that cool?"  
  
"It's great!" Sarah exclaimed excitedly. "Tell me how to play it. Pleaaaaseee?"  
  
Darla nodded at her sister's request. "Let's get outside!" she said and began to lead her sister out of the house.  
  
"Where do you think you're going, Darla?" Jane asked.  
  
"Um, outside?" Darla answered innocently. "Sarah wants to play, so I thought I should entertain her a bit, don't you think?"  
  
"Not until you've both had your lunch. And definitely not until I'm done with you," her mother said.  
  
"I'm in a BIG trouble." Darla muttered.  
  
**  
  
The evening sun hung low on the horizon. Darla was playing 'the Knight of the Night' with Sarah, as she had promised earlier. She became the knight, wearing her favourite Gilgamesh mask. Gilgamesh was her favourite legendary hero, and she had dreamed of summoning him as her Eidolon since as far as she could remember.  
  
Sarah was acting as the victim, while Sildra was the villain. Darla had gone to some length to persuade Sarah to be the victim, as the little girl usually played the hero part. As today's game involved her favourite hero Gilgamesh, she would never miss the chance to be him.  
  
The game began with Sarah being captured by Sildra. The dragon was carrying Sarah on his back as she cried for help. "Help! A bad dragon caught me!!" Despite the call for help, Sarah was laughing gaily on the dragon. It was the first time Darla let her mounted the dragon. Darla had a hard time convincing Sarah to let her become the hero, and Sarah had a hard time asking Darla's permission to mount the dragon. At last they both agreed to each other's wish, and they were both happy about it.  
  
"Have no worry, my fair maiden, for here comes Gilgamesh, the mightiest knight of all!" Darla exclaimed grandiosely. She was riding Chessy, the family's only horse. "Hiya!" She kicked the horse's flank and the chestnut pony darted forward at a high speed. Slowly, the horse gained speed and finally caught up with Sildra. Darla put both of her feet on the horse's back, and then began standing up on the horse.  
  
"Onee-chan, be careful!"  
  
Darla gave a thumb-up to her sister as she fought to keep her balance. Once she was ready, she hurled herself towards Sildra, and managed to grabbed the dragon's leg. She scrambled up onto its back, and mounted behind Sarah.  
  
"I will save you, my beautiful princess!" Darla said to her sister and steered the Silver Dragon towards the ground.  
  
"That was cool, onee-chan!" Sarah cried happily, turning her head 175 degree to look at her elder sister. "Can I be the knight now? Please? Please?"  
  
Diana scratched her chin thoughtfully. "Well... I think you're too young to ride on Chessy..." Despite its cheesy name and small figure, Chessy was an extremely hard-to-handle horse. It was merely a luck that it seemed to like Darla so much. If it didn't, she wouldn't even be able to stand within five feet of the pony. Chessy was fiercer than Sildra sometimes. "Maybe later, okay?"  
  
Sarah pouted at her answer. "You always said that!" she protested, and gave Darla a pleading look.  
  
The older girl returned the favour with a level look, trying her best not to be softened by the big brown eyes. She could've sworn that she saw the eyes shining – literally.  
  
Darla gave in. "All right, I'll let you have a ride. But don't tell mom, okay?" she told her sister. Sarah nodded. As she ran towards the pony, the wind suddenly began blowing fircely. Dark clouds moved towards the sky above Madain Sari, blocking off the light and turned the sky as dark as night. All of a sudden, lightning pierced the sky, and thunders crashed around them, blocking every other sound with its rumbling. As if that wasn't bad enough, the village was soon pelted with heavy rain. Sarah quickly ran towards her sister and hugged her tightly.  
  
"What happen? Why is it dark? Is it night already?" Sarah asked, her voice afraid and uncertain.  
  
Darla didn't asnwer. She was staring up at the sky, knowing something really bad was about to happen. All around her, everything began to fall into confusion. The villagers who had been outside screamed and began running into their houses, while the ones inside peeked out of their windows to see what was happening, and then quickly shut their windows and doors.  
  
"Darla! Sarah!" Jane gasped from the door of their house. "Quick! Come in!" Sarah did as she was told and ran obediently into the house, but Darla continued to stare up at the sky. "What are you waiting for, Darla? Come in!" her mother said.  
  
Darla shook her head. "No. We should get out of this village. Something is coming this way." As soon as she finished her words, a great red eye came into view, looming threateningly on the sky above them. Those who have more courage came out to see it, while some other ran hysterically down the street, trying to be as far from the eye as possible.  
  
"The Red Eye!" someone screamed, and the words spread like wildfire. Soon, everyone was either screaming the words out loud or muttering them with a terrified voice.  
  
Like a switch to total pandemonium, the words struck everyone like a thunder and turned the place into chaos. People began screaming and running at the same time. Some even cried. The village was in a complete disorder – no one could think properly now as fear had taken control of their mind. The great Red Eye had appeared. The very eye that was prophesied to bring death to Madain Sari. The men of the village stepped forwards and summoned their Eidolons to fight, while women scrambled out of their houses to take their children to a safer place. As the Red Eye positioned itself on the centre of the village, monsters began swarming down from the Eye, destroying everything in their way.  
  
"Mom, quick! We have to get out of this village!" Darla shouted at the top of her lungs. The screams of the villagers drowned her voice, but her mother already knew what to do. She went into the house and came back with three cloaks in her hand – and a sword. She gave the first cloak to Darla, and wrapped Sarah with the second one.  
  
"Get onto Sildra," Darla told her mother and sister. They obeyed, and quickly got onto the Silver Dragon. When they were finally settled on the dragon, Darla mounted, taking the rein in her hand. "Take off, Sildra," she ordered, and the dragon shot into the air with high speed.  
  
At first, their flight went on smoothly, but as they reached the shore, another dragon plunged towards them from their back. Its first attempt to attack Sildra failed as Sildra had managed to dodge the attack in time. However, the second strike ripped off a part of Sildra's wing. The Silver Dragon shrieked in pain, and fell down onto the sandy beach.  
  
The soft sand broke their fall. None of them was hurt, but they had to find a new way to escape as Sildra was unable to fly anymore. As they looked around, Jane's eyes fell on their boat, rocking back and forth with the violent wave. "Get into the boat!" she ordered, and ran towards it, carrying Sarah with her.  
  
For a moment, Darla simply stared at her mother and her sister's retreating back. She wanted to run, but something told her not to. Her desire to fight was too overwhelming. She wanted to stay and terminate those Mist spawns, and the Red Eye, if possible. After making up her mind, she ran towards her mother, and quickly grab the sword from her mother's waist.  
  
"What are you doing?" Jane asked, startled at her sudden action.  
  
"I'm sorry mom. I have to do this. You go ahead with Sarah. Don't wait for me, I'll catch up with you later," Darla said quickly as she ran further and further away from her mother.  
  
"Wait, Darla! Come back!"  
  
"Onee-chan! Where are you going?" Sarah called after her sister, then she turned to her mother. "Mom, where is she going? Why isn't she coming with us?"  
  
"She wants to fight for us, dear," Jane replied, tears streaming down her cheeks.  
  
Sarah looked at her mother and then at her sister. "She is always brave, isn't she mom?" she said, smiling proudly. She was very proud of what her sister chose to do, and can't understand why her mother was crying.  
  
"Yes dear," Jane said.  
  
'Someday I'm going to fight bad monsters just like her.' Sarah thought to herself.  
  
Darla had began to disappear from their sight. Jane was torn between two choices. As a mother, she wanted to wait for Darla and escaped together as a family, but it's unlikely that Darla would be able to return. And if she wait much longer, they all might die. That left her only one choice – to leave Darla behind and escape with Sarah. The little girl might be the only hope for the Summoners. With tearful eyes, she continued to run towards the small boat with Sarah in her hands.  
  
**  
  
Darla flew back towards the village on Sildra. She had healed the dragon, and they were now flying with great speed towards the middle of the chaos. She was planning to go to the Eye. She wanted to know who was responsible for the attack, and for some reason, she felt like she knew who it was. She refused to believe her suspicion, though.  
  
As she flew over the village, she saw bodies of the villagers lying everywhere on the ground, equaled with the dead bodies of the Mist spawns. She steered her dragon to fly lower above the ground, trying to find a survivor. As she flew, another Silver Dragon came and knocked her off Sildra. She fell to the ground as her dragon clashed into a combat with the Silver Dragon. It was not a long fall, and she managed to land unhurt on the ground.  
  
"Sildra, be careful!" she cried, watching the battle between the two dragons anxiously. If Sildra loose, she would be in a great trouble. But she knew he was going to win.  
  
"Darla, help!"  
  
Darla turned abruptly towards the source of the voice and saw Aunt Rayna running towards her. She was suffering from severe injuries on her head and shoulders, which were probably a result of trying to protect her newly born baby in her arms. Chimomo the mog was flying along with them, screaming "Kupo!" again and again.  
  
And not far behind them, a Myrid was chasing after them.  
  
Seeing this, Darla quickly ran past her aunt towards the Myrid, her sword ready in her hands. Once she was close enough, she jumped onto the air, and slashed the monster easily into two. Although she was only 14 years old, Darla's fighting level was over 50. A Myrid was not a bother to her.  
  
As its body splitted, the Myrid fell with a high-pitched shriek onto the ground. It thrashed its legs wildly before it was taken forever by death. Darla did not bother cleaning her sword. She quickly ran back towards Aunt Rayna to see her condition. She needed to be healed.  
  
Darla found her aunt lying on the ground, holding little Eiko protectively in her arms. "Darla," she said weakly.  
  
"Shhh..." Darla said, kneeling close to her aunt. "Talk later. I'll heal you first." She drew her aunt closer towards her body and positioned the older woman on her lap.  
  
"No, don't," Aunt Rayna said quickly. "I won't make it. Please save yourself first, and take Eiko with you."  
  
"But-"  
  
"Please, hurry...." she said, and then winced. It was obvious that even one word caused her unendurable pain. Darla drew her head closer towards her aunt's as her voice was getting softer every second. "Take her to Eidolon Wall. There is a small room there." She coughed, and blood – a lot of blood – sputtered out of her mouth. The dark red blood stained her clothes, andtainted her face. "Stay there... You're Eiko's only hope." After she finished talking, she closed her eyes and exhaled her final breath.  
  
Darla felt tears trickling down her cheeks as she witnessed her aunt's death. She wrapped her arms around her aunt, sobbing quietly. Too much death in just one day. She wished she could stop it, even if it caused her own death.  
  
"Kupo!" Chimomo suddenly said. "A dragon is coming this way!"  
  
She turned in alarm, only to see her own Sildra flying down towards her. He was slightly injured. "Don't worry, that dragon is my friend," she assured the terrified mog. "Let's go. We'll ride on him towards the Eidolon Wall."  
  
The mog nodded, hopping towards Sildra's back. Darla bent to take Eiko. The baby was sleeeping soundly, oblivious to the chaos around her. As Darla looked closer, she saw another moogle, a small one, sleeping alongside her cousin. She smiled slightly at the sight and silently vowed to protect those young lives with all her strength.  
  
**  
  
Their flight towards Eidolon Wall was disturbed by some encounters with a Drakan and some Trick Sparrows. With Sildra's help, the Mist spawns were defeated easily. As Sildra descended towards the Wall, Chimomo flew down ahead of them and opened a path to the room Aunt Rayna mentioned earlier. The room was small, but it was enough to hold about five people.  
  
Darla lay Eiko and the baby mog gently on the floor. "Please take care of them while I'm gone," she said, and began to walk away.  
  
"Kupo? Where are you going?"  
  
"I have some business to settle. I can't hide here," she explained. "Not until it's done at least. For now, please take care of Eiko for me. I'll be back as soon as I can."  
  
"Kupo..." The moogle looked uncertain, but he finally nodded. "Just be careful, okay?"  
  
"I know."  
  
Darla went out of Eidolon Wall and rode on her Silver Dragon once more, heading towards the red eye. As they neared the Eye, more spawns came towards them. Darla fend them off with her swords while Sildra did his own part with his Aerial Slash. After some encounters with the monsters, Darla finally came near her destination.  
  
She soon discovered that the red eye was actually a part of a huge airship. As she stared at it in awe, she saw Kuja coming out from the cockpit, his face wearing an evil smirk. He was floating on the air, and stared down at the people in Madain Sari with cold blue eyes.  
  
Darla was greatly shocked at the sudden changes in Kuja. She knew that she had to stop him and quickly urged Sildra to fly into his direction. "Kuja, don't do this!" Darla cried as she flew towards him. Kuja turned towards her, but he gave no sign of recognition. She suddenly remembered the mask on her face. Kuja must've not recognized her because of it. When she was about to take the mask off, Kuja raised his arm towards her direction.  
  
"You should be proud to lose your life in the hand of the Angel of Death," Kuja said coldly. "Savour the prowess of my Flare Star."  
  
As he said these, his hand began to glow with red light. Darla took the chance to say her final words. "Kuja, you don't have to prove yourself by doing this. This is wrong, and you know that. Please, stop this."  
  
Kuja was taken aback by her words. Even though he didn't recognize her face, he recognized her voice. He tried to pull back the attack, but it was too late. Darla found herself engulfed in red light, feeling herself being torn apart by the light. A great pain seared through her body, paralyzing her whole body. Just before she passed out, she breathed her final words, "See you later, Kuja. I'll get you for this... in another life."  
  
Me: Was it okay? Did I make any mistake? Please tell me how you feel. I hope you'll like it and would continue reading and reviewing this fic.  
  
Note: Kuja and any of the characters wouldn't visit today as they're busy sleping. They sent their regards to y'all, though. They said.... "Thank you for reading!! And continue doing so if you don't want your life to end under the hands of the 'Silver Angels'."  
  
Ja! 


	4. Chapter I Man from Sky

Reborn Ones  
Chapter I – Man from Sky  
  
A/N: Finally... the first chapter! I think it's a little bit too angsty, but anyway, enjoy!  
  
Disclaimer: Final Fantasy's not mine. If not, I would've been rich and have no need to go to school. ^_^  
  
****************  
  
Spira, above the ocean.  
  
Kuja looked down at the vast ocean below him, fascinated by its calm and beauty. For the past few years after his defeat, Kuja had began travelling from world to world on Invincible, using Shimmering Island as his portal. He wanted to find peace in his journey, and a world that would accept him. After what he had done to Gaia and Terra, he knew that he had no right to stay there. He had to find a new home.  
  
In his attempt to achieve this, Kuja left the comfort of being with Zidane and Mikoto. He made a decision to begin a quest for a new place to live. He had journeyed from Gaia to the Planet, Spira, and other unnamed worlds to find a home, but none was fit for him. Although he journeyed far, he never forget to return to Terra to visit Mikoto. She was working hard to make Terra a better planet – beautiful and full of life. And he was glad that she succeeded. With Zidane's help, Terra has become green once more, with variety of species taken from Gaia and other planets Kuja had visited.  
  
After Necron was defeated, he had became closer to Zidane, just like brothers should. They had gone through some adventures together, and he felt extremely glad to be with Zidane. As they travelled together, Kuja had adapted his brother's more informal way of speaking, and – to his own disbelief; Zidane's flirtatious attitude. And the boy had taught him one fact that he had missed most of his life; flirting was fun. However, Mikoto seemed displeased with Kuja's change of attitude, saying that Zidane had corrupted him. He guessed that she had a very good point for saying that.  
  
Just a few days ago, Kuja had returned to Gaia to visit Zidane. He was having a wedding, with none other than Princess Garnet til Alexandros the 17th. That little monkey looked so happy that Kuja could do nothing but smiled along with his brother the whole ceremony.  
  
But that was all he could do.  
  
Although he was smiling, his heart was in a deep sorrow. Zidane had finally settled down with the woman he loves, but he was still alone in his misery world. He had once yearned for Garnet for her beauty and the Eidolons she possesed, but the attachment had withered in his greed for power. Now that his craving was gone, he felt something for Garnet again – not because of her beauty or Eidolons, but for her resemblance to someone he loved so long ago.  
  
Darla.  
  
His meeting with her was brief, but it affected his whole life. When he went to the cliff ten years ago, he was thinking of attempting suicide – a very foolish and childish decision. He thought it would be the best choice and allow him to rest in peace. But then, she came, telling him not to cry anymore. And to be strong.  
  
Growing up with a lunatic such as Garland, he had believed to be strong is to possess great power and rule others with it. That was why he was willing to lead the assault on Madain Sari. He wanted to be strong, and present a stronger Kuja the next time he sees her, but the moment would never come.  
  
It took him some time to believe that it was him that killed Darla mercilessly in Madain Sari. When the realization struck him, he became insane and turned himself into a monster – into the Angel of Death. He let his darkside took control of him and brought havoc on both Gaia and Terra.  
  
Kuja sighed. It was all over now. He would never see her again.  
  
He threw his gaze on a lone ship sailing on the sea. That's when he became aware of a teeny tiny spherical object – which he though was a ball; that was speeding straight towards Invincible from the ship. Thanks to his past visit to Spira, Kuja could identify the ball as blitzball, the only mean of entertainment in the Sin-infested world.  
  
As he watched, the blitzball continued its progress towards the airship -- and then plunged itself onto the engine.  
  
"What the fuck!" Kuja cursed as Invincible began to topple. He quickly ran to the pilot seat and fought to control the falling airship. Most probably, the engine was broken, and there was very little he could do to save himself and the airship from crashing. So much for being 'invincible', huh? It never ever occurred to him that the finest airship in the whole Gaia and Terra would be down because of a tiny blitzball.  
  
Well, at least he would collide onto the ocean, not on a hard ground.  
  
**  
  
Meanwhile, on the 'lone ship sailing on the sea' a.k.a. SS Wino...  
  
"You're not the best anymore, old man," Tidus said proudly. "Now I could also master your almighty Jecht Shot. So much for being the only one. With my newly-mastered Jecht Shot, I will take down everything in my way, even if it's an airship!"  
  
And so he had.  
  
**  
  
Kuja tried his luck with the controller again, doing his best to make the Invincible have a safe landing on the ocean. It was hard as the spherical controller was spinning like crazy. Kuja stopped the spinning with both of his hand and tried to steer the airship into a better position. When he was halfway through his effort, a huge, ugly brownish monster came into his view. He knew right away that it was Sin. Much to Kuja's dismay, Sin opened its mouth, sucking in gallons of seawater along with unfortunate schools of fish with it.  
  
Seeing this, Kuja fought harder with the controller and tried to steer away from Sin. The sphere chose the moment to slip out of his hands and spin wildly again. Invincible went out of control and fell straight into Sin's opened mouth. As soon as it swallowed the airship, it closed its mouth and burped loudly.  
  
**  
  
Earth, year 2156, 1630 hours.  
  
Darla was walking alone on a narrow road, feeling very tired and depressed. She was walking home from the convenient store, having quite a heavy bundle with her. She had just finished her back-to-school shopping to prepare for her final year at school, which would be tomorrow. Due to her loathing towards school, she chosed to pretend to forget about it, until her sister decided to remind her, and practically shooed her off to the store.  
  
Not that she hated learning. But she felt like her time was wasted when she went to school everyday, doing nothing else but sitting on a chair listening to the teachers drone on and on for eight hours. She was young, and she wanted to do something else to fill her life. Things like saving the world, kicking the bad guys' ass and more importantly, fight for Justice. She needed to do these sort of things while she was still young. She didn't think she would be any useful fightning the villains as a nanny. So... can't she just spend her youth fighting and start going to school when she reaches her 40s?  
  
Definitely NOT! Her sister had said. She sighed.  
  
Whenever the school is open, it has been her daily routine to wake up as early as seven-thirty in the morning, race to school at 8.05 a.m. (her school started at eight), suffer endless torture for eight hours, and stay up late until midnight to finish her homework. All in all, everyday was a boring day to her, except on the rare occasion when assassins from Terra Inc. came to kill her and her sister. Whenever they came, the day always seemed to light up.  
  
Unfortunately, there hadn't been any hired gun for the past few months. Her life had been extremely bored, and it became even worse with the mountain- high piles of homework the teachers had given her for the holiday. Usually, it was her sister who would help her finish the homeworks. Contrary to her thick brain, her sister had a brilliant brain with the I.Q of 300. She was a genuine genius. She could be anything she wanted – scientist, doctor, businesswoman, computer programmer; just name it. She's practically good at everything – cooking, sewing, fighting, and even hacking. However, due to the lack of money, she wasn't able to continue her study, and opened a flower shop instead.  
  
Darla looked up at the cerulean sky above her. It was clear, except for some patches of white clouds. It can't possibly rain anytime soon and it was still early. So she thought she would pay a visit to Faine Hill, her favourite spot in the dull countryside. Smiling to herself, she changed her course and headed towards the rows of hills and mountains at the north of Hillvillle, the one and only town in the isolated valley.  
  
It took her nearly ten minutes to get there. The hill was a beautiful grassland with a wide variety of towering trees. Unlike most hills and mountains on the planet, Faine Hill maintained its natural beauty. It was untouched by the war – most of the countryside was, anyway. The place was too isolated that even the soldiers didn't bother to wreck the place – which was why the school wasn't destroyed.  
  
After taking a deep breath, Darla slowly made her way up the hill, taking each step carefully. She had slipped down the steep hill a few times before, and it hadn't been a pleasant experience. She learnt to be careful the hard way, which was a good thing – in a way. Having such a hard time, she knew she would never forget to be careful while climbing the hill.  
  
About half an hour passed before she set her foot at the peak. It was exhausting, but for her, it was worth it. She gasped in wonder as she stared down at the magnificent view of the countryside. Everything seemed green from her position, except for some patches of brown, indicating the villagers' house. Quite a distance ahead, she could see the town, significantly less green than the land around it. Her eyes trailed towards Desa Lake, a big lake that stretched out for about 10 kilometers, covering both the town and the coutryside part.  
  
She began looking for her house, and managed to spotted it in no time. It was a wooden house at the green valley, located right beside the lake. It seemed so small and trivial compared to the surrounding, but for her it was the greatest thing one could find around the area. She still remembered how hard Sis had worked to make the house availabe for both of them. She still worked hard until now, sacrificing every bit of her time and strength so that they could survive in this cruel world. Now and then, Darla had tried to 'repay' her kindness by trying to find a boyfriend for her. She thought that Sis should settle down and had a nice, rich husband to support her life, instead of working hard by herself. But things always get screwed up. And until now, Sis was still a beautiful unmarried virgin.  
  
A sudden breeze blew against Darla's face, and her short dark hair danced slightly according to the wind. She smiled to herself, enjoying the rush of air on her face, and the sweet scent of the gentle wind. The breeze brought her the scent of the wild greens of the countryside, sweet smell of flowers and grass, along with light aroma of freshly baked cakes and stew from the villagers' house.  
  
"This is wonderful," she muttered to herself. The rush of air on her face, and the magnificent view of the countryside made her feel whole again. Maybe that's why the heroes enjoyed standing on the mountain so much, she thought, referring to the countless times she'd seen heroes in the movies standing on a cliff/mountain/hill etc., with the wind blowing against their face, and their cape fluttered majestically in the wind. Oh, how much she wanted to be like them!  
  
She sighed contentedly, and then looked at her watch. It was already 5.30 pm. If she didn't get back home right now, Sis would be vexed, and perhaps cut down her monthly pocket money, which was already low enough. Not that she blamed her sister for that, of course. Regretfully, she threw a final glance at the azure sky.  
  
And froze.  
  
Something... like a... ship... was moving towards her direction. She peered at it curiously, wondering what it really was. It was a ship, alright, except that instead of being on the sea, it was flying in the air. Not really flying though, it was more like *diving* towards the ground – towards her. Wait a minute... "That ship is going to crash on me!"  
  
Realizing this, she immediately sprinted away, trying to be as far from the ship as possible. She found it hard to determine where it was going to land. As she ran, she kept looking back over her shoulder, trying to find out where the ship was going to hit. To her dismay, it seemed like the ship was going to fall straight onto her, no matter which direction she took.  
  
At her eigth glance, she got another shock of her life as she saw a man jumping out of the ship, falling straight towards her. Why does everything decide to fall on me today? she thought frantically, increasing her speed. A few seconds later, she found herself knocked flat onto the ground. She wanted to stand up and run again, but whatever it was that knocked her pushed her back towards the ground.  
  
"Hold still!"  
  
It was a male's voice. Darla realized that it was the man jumping out of the ship, and he was the one who knocked her down. He was lying on top of her, as if trying to cover her from the oncoming explosion. She wanted to stand up and gave him a punch for what he'd done, but the urgency in his voice made her comply. She realized that the ship was going to collide anytime soon. She closed her eyes and covered her head with her hands in the manner of a terrified child.  
  
Less than a second later – BOOM!! – the ship crashed onto the ground, causing quite a big explosion that momentarily deafened her ears. The explosion was followed by blazing flames that destroyed a big portion of the grassland. As the explosion began to subside, Darla peered one eye open, scanning the area around her. It was a devastating sight. Trees were burning in orange flames. The grass and flowers were obliterated, leaving only a big patch of black ashen soil.  
  
Darla wrenched herself free from the man's hold and stood up, watching the whole scene around her with deep sorrow. "This can't be happening..." she said. "Someone had to stop this. I have to stop the fire."  
  
Without even glancing at the man that had just saved her, she went towards the direction of the stream, determined to put out the fire.  
  
"Wait. I'll do it."  
  
Darla stopped suddenly, and looked back at the stranger, giving him a very close look for the first time. She noticed that his hair was silver – long silver hair that fell gracefully down his back. His skin was strangely pale, and she managed to see quite a big portion of it because of the revealing outfit he was wearing. He was watching her through his eyes – cold blue eyes that brought a shiver down her spine. As their eyes met, Darla felt a wave of recognition swept over her. But she ignored it.  
  
"You're... going to help me?" she asked, and received a nod from him. "Good. Let's go to the stream to fetch some water."  
  
The man snickered. "For what?" he said, somewhat flamboyantly. He held his hand high above his head, and muttered something inaudible. Suddenly, blue light began swirling around his hand, forming a small whirlpool that slowly gained in size. The aqua-colored light materialized into water, and then shot through the air towards the burning trees. In a minute, every single fire was put out, replaced by streams of white smoke.  
  
Darla stood watching the whole scene with her mouth open.  
  
"How... how did you do that?" she managed to ask after some minutes of utter shock. She knew instantly that it was magic. She had seen it countless times in movies and cartoon – and seen some of the assasins from Terra Inc. did it. 'This guy was no ordinary,' she thought and looked around for something to defend herself. Most of the things around her was completely burned by the fire. Her eyes spotted a stick at the place she was knocked down earlier, and quickly darted forward to grab it. She held it upright in front of her as if holding a sword.  
  
"Garnet, what are you doing? Don't you recognize me?" the man asked, slowly walking towards her.  
  
"Stand still!" Darla ordered, and the man halted. She didn't know what she was supposed to do. The recognition strike her once again as she heard his voice. Don't you recognize me? The words rang a bell somewhere in her memory. She was tempted to say 'Yes', but then, who was he? She certainly didn't remember knowing anyone with silver hair and.... an incredibly beautiful face... she added without thinking. She blushed slightly. What am I thinking?  
  
"When did you cut your hair?" the man asked again, sounding amused. "Is Zidane here?" As he asked the fourth question, he began to approach her again.  
  
Darla glared at him. "I said, stand still!" But her glare turned into a curious stare as she noticed the furry... thingy...at his back for the first time. It was swinging from left to right, looking very much like a... tail. "You... you have tail!" she exclaimed increduously, eyeing his tail in disbelief.  
  
The man gave her a puzzled glance. "Garnet, it's not like you've never seen someone with tail before."  
  
"Oh, yes. I happen to have never seen someone with tail before, mister." Darla replied sarcastically.  
  
"What about Zidane? Don't tell me you've never seen his tail."  
  
Zidane? As in Zinedine Zidane, the famous footballer before the War began? She had never heard that he had a tail. And, who is this Garnet anyway? "For your information, my name is not Garnet. You got the wrong person."  
  
She felt her wariness slowly receded. He can't be a bad guy, she decided. He kept calling her 'Garnet', and had a tail. He can't be from Terra Inc. Or, even if he was, it didn't seem like he wanted to kill her. He would've done that if he wanted to, as he seemed to be a very powerful sorcerer. Slowly, she lowered the stick towards her side.  
  
The man didn't seem abashed at his mistake for calling her Garnet. Instead, he simply stared at her, giving her a look of surprise and... hope. He opened his mouth a few times, but nothing came out of it. Finally, he managed to say one word, although his voice was so faint that she barely heard it. "Darla."  
  
Me: sorry for the abrupt end. I've separated the supposedly one chapter into two as I added new things here and there. It's become too long.  
  
Darla is the only original character I have for now. Sephiroth and Aeris will make their appearance later (maybe in the 2nd or 3rd chapter). About Darla's hero-wannabe attitude – I got that from watching to much Slayers and reading too much of its fanfic. She died wearing Gilgamesh's mask, and it had stirred up her heroic attitude, I think.  
  
To all reviewers, Thank You Very Much! I really appreciate them.  
  
Lastly, please click the bluey button down there and tell me what you think of this fic. ^_^ 


	5. Chapter 2 Falling Silver

Reborn Ones

Chapter 2

Hiya! Been a looong time since I posted anything. But that doesn't mean I didn't write anymore. I've written a lot, but am too lazy to post it. :P

In case anyone had been missing this story, (which I doubt it :( ... ) here goes the next chapter!

Earth, year 2126.

Sephiroth walked down Chulan Street, his Masamune strapped safely at his back. Some people gave him a second glance as they noticed his long vicious-looking sword, but none of them dared to say anything about it. After all, the sight of a man with sword was not so uncommon anymore. Since the Hundred Years War began, the world has fallen into dark age once again. Although the war has ended, there were battles everywhere, and people had started carrying weapons with them to protect themselves. It was not against the law anymore.

Things had changed a great deal in the past 100 years. Yet, technology had advanced at an awfully slow rate. Most people had dreamt of flying cars and robots that would do every work for them in the 21st century, but year 2126 has no such things to offer. The war had caused great damaged, destroying the world's largest cities and wiping out two third of its population.

Sephiroth had been discovered a few years after the War ended. He was found frozen in the Arctic circle by scientists from Terra Inc. The scientists brought him back to life from his long slumber, but he had lost his memory. One of the two owners of the corporation, a fat, bulky man named ShinRa had promised him his memory if he accomplish a single task – kill Aeris Glorina.

flashback

"What do you want from me?" Sephiroth asked brusquely. Although ShinRa played a major role in restoring him from his long sleep, he had grown to dislike the man the moment he saw him.

ShinRa smiled at Sephiroth's impatience. "My, my aren't we snappy today," he said, toying with his old-fashioned pipe.

"Just get to the point, ShinRa," Sephiroth said impatiently. "I don't have much time to deal with the likes of you."

"After all those years, your hatred towards me still has not fade."

Sephiroth didn't say anything at ShinRa's remark. For some reason, the overweight old man knew about his past, and from what ShinRa had told him, he knew that they were enemies. ShinRa was the one who told him that his name was Sephiroth, but he refused to tell him anything else other than his name.

ShinRa puffed out a series of black smoke and smiled. "I want to offer you something, and I'm very sure you would accept it," he said, watching Sephioth's face for any change in his expression, but there was none. "I want to offer you your memory."

Sephiroth was quite shocked, but he tried his best to hide it. "And what do you want me to do in return?" he asked. ShinRa was a devious man. It would be impossible that he would help anyone without earning a benefit himself.

"Just one little task. And I'm sure someone as..." There was a slight pause as ShinRa searched for the right word. "...powerful as you would be able to finish it easily enough."

"What is it?"

"I want you to kill Aeris Glorina," ShinRa said. "And I want you to do it without question." He took something from his drawer and threw it towards Sephiroth. He caught it with his hand – it was a picture of a beautiful young woman with green eyes, probably in her early twenty. She was smiling, and the smile lit up her whole face, enhancing her beauty. Her long brown hair was tied into a ponytail. He didn't need to ask ShinRa to know that it was Aeris Glorina.

"That is Aeris Glorina, formerly known as Aeris Gainsborough," ShinRa explained involuntarily. He looked at the way Sephiroth stared at the picture, and smirked. "She's an angel, isn't she? But make sure you don't fall in love with her."

Sephiroth quickly averted his gaze from the picture. "You don't have to worry."

"I certainly hope so," ShinRa said and then continued with his explanation. "Her address is written on the back of the picture. Or if you prefer to kill her when she's working, you could find her in Chulan Street. She's a fluorist, and owned a shop there. That's all. You're dismissed."

Sephiroth turned and walked out of the room, eager to get rid of ShinRa. But, he was wondering why would the owner of an all-powerful company would want to kill a fluorist. Something about her face and her name reminded him of something – or someone, but he couldn't put a finger on who or what it was.

end of flashback

Finally, Sephiroth came to a halt in front of a small shop. From his position, he could see a brown-haired girl in the building, working on a bunch of flower. He knew right away that it was Aeris Glorina. He decided to wait until she close the shop and kill her when she was on her way home. So, he waited, waiting for his chance to strike.

It was almost dark when Aeris closed her shop and left for her home. Seeing this, Sephiroth quickly trailed after her, making sure to leave a little distance between them so that she wouldn't notice him. He followed her until they reached an old, abandoned church. Aeris went into the church, while Sephiroth went around the building in search of another entrance. He found a window at one side of the church and climbed in.

Sephiroth positioned himself on the ceiling of the church, watching Aeris as she tended the flowerbeds on the floor. She was completely alone, and he thought it would be the best time for him to kill her. Slowly, he raised his sword above his head, ready to jump down and strike her – but couldn't. Something inside him strained him from killing her. He struggled with himself, sometimes trying to jump down and sometimes trying to throw away the sword. All of a sudden, dizziness swept over him, and he found himself losing his balance. He flailed his arms wildly in order to stable himself, but failed. He fell down from the ceiling and then, everything turned into darkness.

Aeris jumped in shock as she heard the clatter of a metal against the floor. She quickly turned, and found a long sword lying on the floor not far from where she was sitting. She looked up to see where it fell from, and was rewarded with the greatest shock in her life. There was a man falling from the ceiling, and he was diving straight towards her.

"Eeekkkk!!!" Aeris screamed and lunged to her right, afraid to be squeezed flat under the man's weight. Then, she watched worriedly as the man met his unfortunate fate.

He hit head-first onto the floor, and was accompanied by a loud thud. Aeris winced at the sight. "It must've hurt a lot..." she said to herself, and then quickly ran to see the stranger's condition. He was motionless, and Aeris had a bad feeling that he might be dead. Anxiously, she kneeled beside him and began searching for his pulse. She sighed in relief when she felt his heartbeat. It was quite weak, but at least he was alive.

"Hello," Aeris said, shaking the man gently. "Do you hear me?" But there was no response. She tried again, but he was still unconscious. Aeris decided to shout at his ear – the sudden noise might startle him and wake him up. So, she held his head in her hands and brushed aside some strands of his long silvery hair. That's when she noticed the big gash at the side of his head.

She gasped, and stared in horror at the wound. It was the biggest one she had seen in her life, and blood was pouring out of the wound. Well, maybe it was exaggerated a bit – the blood wasn't pouring out, just trickling – but there really was a lot of them around his head. It was a wonder she didn't notice it earlier. She quickly recovered from her shock and placed her hands an inch above the wound, concentrating hard. White light emitted from her hands, and began engulfing the injury. She had to repeat the process a few times before the stranger was completely healed.

Once it was over, Aeris lay down on the floor, panting. Her ability to heal was always useful, but it was also tiring. After she had recovered, she sat up and bent down to take a closer look at the stranger. His skin was very pale and smooth, and his silver hair was very long, maybe even longer than her own hair. She reached out to touch it, and she was amazed with its softness. Her hand trailed down to his face, and again, she was surprised, but this time by the hardness of his skin. It was strangely firm, as if it doesn't belong to a human.

Suddenly, the silver-haired man stirred, and opened his eyes slowly. Aeris quickly pulled back her hand and sat straight. "You're awake," she said, stating the obvious.

The man looked at her in wonder, and then said, "Who are you? Why am I here?"

Aeris arched her eyebrow at the question. "Hey, I am the one who should ask you that. You're the one who suddenly barged in from the ceiling. What were you doing up there anyway?"

The stranger frowned, and touched his head. "I... I can't remember."

"Maybe you've lost your memory... " Aeris said slowly, suddenly feeling sympathy towards him. "You've fallen from the ceiling and hit head-first onto the floor. Maybe that's why."

He nodded and sat up. "So, where is this place?"

"It's an abandoned church. I grow my flowers here," Aeris explained. "Oh, and I'm Aeris. Aeris Glorina. Nice to meet you."

Finish reading? Wait!

I need your help!!

Umm... it's like this... I'd be sitting for a BIG exam this year, and English is one of the subjects that I take.

So.... Can you pleasee tell me what would you give me if you're the examiner?

Oh yeah... and consider this:

- it's supposed to be a high school standard essay

- English is not my first language

- what would you give if you're a real meanie and if you're a really considerate and kind examiner (so, there'd be two grades)

Pleaseee??? I'd be very grateful if you do.

Oh yeah... and please tell me what'd you think about how the story goes. Is it okay?

Poor Sephy has lost his memory....

Seph: (running from his new series: Advent Child) Don't call me THAT!!!


End file.
